Auschwitz prisoner and photographer dies at 95 WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The images are haunting: naked and emaciated children at Auschwitz standing shoulder-to-shoulder, adult prisoners in striped garb posing for police-style mug shots. One of several photographers to capture such images, Wilhelm Brasse, has died at the age of 95. A Polish photographer who was arrested and sent to Auschwitz early in World War II, he was put to work documenting his fellow prisoners, an emotionally devastating ...

Taliban leader says insider attacks will increase KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban insurgents will increase the number of insider attacks against coalition and Afghan forces, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 52 foreign troops so far this year, the movement's reclusive leader said Wednesday. In an emailed statement congratulating Muslims as they prepare to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday, Mullah Mohammad Omar urged "every brave Afghan in the ranks of the foreign forces and thei...

Report: Illegal Mexican migration to US stabilizes MEXICO CITY (AP) — The number of migrants crossing illegally into the United States from Mexico appears to have risen some in the first half of 2012, while the number of migrants returning to Mexico decreased, a report by U.S. and Mexican researchers said Tuesday. It was the first time the net outflow of migrants from Mexico has increased since the 2007 economic slump caused a sharp drop in both migration and the amount of money sent home by M...

6.5 earthquake shakes Costa Rica's Pacific coast SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck Costa Rica's Pacific coast on Tuesday, swaying buildings and sending people running into the streets in the nation's capital of San Jose. The 6.5-magnitude quake was centered in the Guanacaste region of the Central American country, only 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the popular tourist town of Nicoya, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It had a depth of 24.5 miles (39.5 kilometers),...

Jamaica prepares for Tropical Storm Sandy KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaicans stocked up on supplies and reinforced roofs on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Sandy, which is expected to hit the Caribbean island of posh resorts and sprawling shantytowns as a hurricane with lashing rain and wind. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was churning over warm Caribbean waters and should reach Jamaica on Wednesday, most likely as a Category 1 hurricane. The...

Al-Qaida in Afghanistan is attempting a comeback KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A diminished but resilient al-Qaida, whose 9/11 attacks drew America into its longest war, is attempting a comeback in Afghanistan's mountainous east even as U.S. and allied forces wind down their combat mission and concede a small but steady toehold to the terrorist group. That concerns U.S. commanders, who have intensified strikes against al-Qaida cells in recent months. It also undercuts an Obama administration nar...

Libyan turmoil persists year after Gadhafi death TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — On the anniversary of the capture and killing of Moammar Gadhafi, Libya is still grappling with the legacy of his four decades of rule as the interim government and the dictator's former spokesman engaged in a war of words amid the ongoing chaos. The Libyan government said Saturday that its forces had detained Gadhafi's high profile spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, but an online recording from a man purporting to be Ibrahim deni...

Fatah fails to win strong nod in West Bank vote They are flailing in all directions," Nathan Brown, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank. "They can't go to the international community for financial support. They can't do (general) elections. They can't do reconciliation. So (they say) let's at least do municipal elections.

Lebanese on edge after car bomb linked to Syria BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese protesters erected flaming roadblocks and gunmen roamed the streets Saturday in a city on edge after the assassination of a top security official in a powerful car bomb the prime minister linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria. The crisis raised a terrifying specter for Lebanese who fear their country could easily plunge back into cycles of violence and reprisal that have haunted it for decades. Friday's blast in t...

Israeli naval vessels take control of Gaza boat JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops on Saturday commandeered a Gaza-bound ship that tried to break through Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled seaside strip, the military said. European lawmakers and other pro-Palestinian activists aboard did not resist, and the Finnish-flagged vessel was diverted to an Israeli port. The trip by the ship, Estelle, marked the latest challenge to the air, land and sea embargo of Gaza that Israel imposed after the I...

US aircraft carrier cruises disputed Asian seas ON BOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. aircraft carrier group cruised through the disputed South China Sea on Saturday in a show of American power in waters that are fast becoming a focal point of Washington's strategic rivalry with Beijing. Vietnamese security and government officials were flown onto the nuclear-powered USS George Washington ship, underlining the burgeoning military relationship between the former enemies. A small n...

Airstrikes in northern Syria kill at least 43 BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian warplanes hammered a strategic city captured by rebels, leaving behind scenes of carnage captured Thursday on amateur videos that showed a man holding up two child-sized legs not connected to a body and another carrying a dismembered arm. Activists said airstrikes over the past two days on opposition targets across Syria's north have killed at least 43 people. The city of Maaret al-Numan, located strategically on a major n...

Mexico seeks exhumation of drug lord's parents MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities are seeking permits to exhume the remains of drug lord Heriberto Lazcano's parents to obtain material for DNA testing to convince the public beyond doubt that he is dead, Mexico's top anti-drug prosecutor said Wednesday. Lazcano's body was stolen by a team of armed, masked men from a funeral home in northern Coahuila state on Oct. 8, hours after he was killed by Mexican marines, according to officials. Mexico's n...

Group: Libya militias 'executed' Gadhafi loyalists CAIRO (AP) — Libyan rebels appear to have "summarily executed" scores of fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, and probably the dictator himself, when they overran his hometown a year ago, a human rights group said Wednesday. The report by Human Rights Watch on alleged rebel abuses that followed the October 2011 capture of the city of Sirte in the final major battle of the eight-month civil war is one of the most detailed descriptions of what the...

Israel counted Gaza calorie needs during blockade JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities blockading the Gaza Strip in 2008 went so far as to calculate how many calories would be needed to avert a humanitarian disaster in the impoverished Palestinian territory, according to a newly declassified military document. The military said Wednesday the guidelines were never implemented. However critics rejected the claim, saying the document was new evidence that Israel used food as a pressure tactic to...

UN Syria envoy calls on government to start truce BEIRUT (AP) — The international envoy to the Syrian conflict on Wednesday called on President Bashar Assad's regime to take the lead in implementing a cease-fire during a major Muslim holiday later this month. Lakhdar Brahimi said rebel representatives have assured him they will also observe the truce if the government takes the first step. "The Syrian people are burying hundreds of people each day, so if they bury fewer people during the days...

Brothels rescue cash-strapped Greek soccer team LARISSA, Greece (AP) — The world's oldest profession is giving a whole new meaning to love of the game. Players on a cash-strapped Greek soccer team now wear pink practice jerseys with the logos "Villa Erotica" and "Soula's House of History," two bordellos it recruited as sponsors after drastic government spending cuts left the country's sports clubs facing ruin. Other teams have also turned to unconventional financing. One has a deal with a l...